I can't stop eating nut butter! (a recipe and other news)
Seriously, I can't stop eating nut butter!!
Okay, let's backtrack a little. You may remember this post where I talked about digestion and different ways in which foods can help us, I also briefly mentioned I've been having a few issues myself. Well the issues have persisted and two weeks ago I finally decide to do something about it since my own attempts weren't coming to much. I saw a kinesiologist who, after performing an array of muscle testing, advised that amongst a few other mineral imbalances I had candida issues. The dreaded sugarfree diet ensued…
So for the last two weeks I have been on a strict anti-candida diet. No sugar of any kind. No fruit of any kind. No sweet vegetables of any kind.
So what have I actually been eating? Lots of greens, beans and pulses, some porridge (minus the fruit)… AND a ridiculous amount of nut butter!!
I never truly appreciated the idea that fat helps crowd out sugar cravings, but that's exactly what seems to have taken place. I made the 'mistake' of making a couple of sweet nut butter concoctions… they were so good I literally consumed a whole jar last weekend ;-/
I'm hoping this is just an adjustment phase and that once I've got my head around things a little bit more and have come up with other recipes to snack on and substitute the foods I miss then it will become easier.
I had two main concerns in beginning this diet:
1- In running Wholeplus I always test the recipe batches as I produce them and not being able to test any of the mixture for 4+ weeks is going to be extremely tricky indeed. But i'll find a way.
2- I didn't want to have a boring recipe blog for the next month as sweet and fruity things are always up there on the agenda from me and a month of savouries wasn't necessarily my idea of fun for you lot.
So I have an idea...
Starting from April I will be hosting a guest-post slot once a week to bring you recipes from others in the healthy nutrition field. I will update you more about this in a few days time so keep your eyes peeled. I also have a few extra recipes up my sleeve that i haven't yet blogged.
In other news, I have been loaned a juicer to test and review for the blog… much excitement here as I've been in talks with Tribest UK for a number of weeks since I was very keen to get involved with the whole juicing game. I will be posting a full review and recipes shortly, you may have already seen a few pics crop up on my Instagram if you follow me there.
Lastly, I didn't want to leave without giving you a little recipe or two…
These are both candida friendly AND entire-human-population-friendly recipes as they are so simple and so good! One lesson I've learned so far on the candida diet is that when stevia is your only option for sweetness, use cinnamon and vanilla spices very liberally as they help to balance the taste of the stevia and also naturally give the impression of sweetness themselves so make for the perfect option when creating lightly sweet treats. Cashews also have a subtle creamy sweetness so made the perfect base for these butters.
Make these and you'll appreciate exactly why I can't stop eating nut-butter. You have been warned :-)
P.s If anyone has been on the candida diet or has any tips for me… be sure to throw them my way!!
Recipe: Vanilla and cinnamon cashew butter
Makes 1 jar
Ingredients:
2 tbs coconut oil
3 cups cashews (soak the cashews unless you have a high powered processor)*
2 tsp vanilla powder
2 tsp cinnamon
5 drops stevia*
Method:
Melt the coconut oil and then blend with the remaining ingredints in a food processor until the cashews are ground very finely and you have a silky smooth spread.
Recipe: Chocolate cashew spread
Makes 1 jar
Ingredients:
½ cup cacao liquor chips
2 tbs coconut oil
3 cups cashews*
1 heaped tbs vanilla powder
10 drops stevia*
Method:
Melt cacao and coconut oil and then blend with the remining ingredints in a food processor until the cashews are ground as finely as possible and you have a smooth spread.
Notes:
* This would probably work well and be even smoother with 1-2 tbs syrup instead of the stevia for those not on a candida diet (not tested).
* I have a very powerful food processor that blitzed the cashews as they were, but you may have more success and a creamier result by soaking the cashews for a few hours first and discarding the soaking water before proceeding with the recipe. Note- the resulting butter may be a little less thick and would be advisable to keep in the fridge due to the slight water content potentially affecting the shelf life.
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